A Cosmic Union
by cloaked-and-coastin
Summary: Cooper has left the station on his way to find Amelia on Edmond's planet. In Amelia's eyes, Cooper will be like Lazarus: a ghost brought back to life. Cooper's arrival at the colony will revive the romantic relationship that was slowly starting to gain momentum towards the end of the movie.
1. Chapter 1

Cooper and TARS have just entered the wormhole on their way to Edmond's planet. As the shimmering cosmos slips past at mind boggling speeds, Cooper's eyes watch but they do not see. As Copper was able to relay the critical set of data to his daughter, Murph, so that she could solve the Gravity Equation. Murph in turn gave Cooper the critical set of data that helped unlock the equation to his heart. Having made peace with his daughter and comforted with the knowledge that his descendants would be there to see her off on her celestial journey. Cooper has had a fire lit under him and now he had to go. Cooper now feels an ache in his heart that he hasn't felt since his wife was alive. His mind's eye is focused on a certain brunette beauty who is truly alone in a strange galaxy: Amelia.

Cooper thinks of the message that was received at the station from Amelia Brand:

_Endurance has reached Edmond's planet. Planet is capable of sustaining life. Doyle, Romilly, Miller, Mann and Edmonds are dead. Cooper lost, fate unknown. Moving ahead with Plan B. If anyone receives this, our new home has been found, please come...I am alone._

_I have to admit that I did feel attracted to her when I first met her. _Cooper thinks to himself. S_he did seem like a cold bitch though. Then there was the realization that Edmonds and her were in love. That was it then, my course was set, I wasn't going to pursue it any further. But in the short time that I was with her, I swore that something was starting to develop between us._

Feeling the need to focus, Cooper speaks up. "TARS. Tell me about Dr. Edmonds. What was he like?"

"He was a tall fella and a real egghead. I think the thing that attracted Dr. Brand to him was his sense of humor."

"TARS, what's your discretion setting at right now?"

"Default setting. It's at 20."

"Why would you mention Dr. Brand's attraction to him?"

"Cooper may I first ask several questions before I answer the one you just asked me?"

"Shoot Slick."

"Why have you been so quiet? Why do I detect you're vital readings being slightly depressed? Why would you be so touchy about me adding unsolicited information about Dr. Brand?"

_How is he reading me like a book right now!? _Cooper very calmly asks a counter question. "TARS, how is it that you are perceiving all these things about me right now?"

"Hardware and software upgrades. After you got me up and running, the crew on Cooper Station realized how much I meant to you. They went ahead and did a complete overall on my innards. So, basically I've taken a quantum leap in situational awareness which means that I am several magnitudes better at reading/understanding humans. Note that part of the cargo we stowed on board is an upgrade kit for CASE if he is still _**alive**_."

_Jesus. They gave him 124 years worth of updates._

"_You are concerned about Dr. Brand, aren't you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_I sense that you miss her as well."_

That last question was a direct hit. Cooper starts to feel a lump rise in his throat and his eyes watering. The thoughts of Murph talking about Amelia's loneliness wash over him like a tidal wave. Cooper is speechless for what seems like an eternity.

_When I detached, I felt like an archer letting the arrow loose to shoot across the heavens and find its mark. By hitting the mark, you would find the arms of your lost love and ensure the survival of our race. But before I let go, I saw it in your eyes. Something was there and if the circumstances were different, if you would of let me in, I would of seized it and never let go._

Clearing his throat, he bares his soul to a machine. "Uh-ugggnnn." Moments pass. "I thought she'd find Edmonds when she got to his planet. I thought she would be OK when she got there. It turns out that I abandoned her TARS."

"Cooper, we ran the numbers together. You saw the percentages of success for her reaching the planet both with and without you attached. Given we did not know if the two of you were the last surviving humans, you acted in a selfless manner, by detaching to face your end in the void. By doing so, you just about guaranteed her arriving at the destination. Given what was at stake, you did what had to be done."

"It still doesn't make it any easier for me to handle though. I had to do something like this when I left my kids behind."

The Ranger had cleared the wormhole. Since this next generation space craft had a fusion power source and Edmond's planet was in proximity of the wormhole, the journey would be a short several hours.

"Relax Cooper, I think she'll understand why you had to do it. Matter of fact, I think it might of earned you a couple of points towards an intergalactic booty call!"

"Ha, ha, ha...ohhhh. TARS humor sett-"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll back it down 10 points. I'm just trying to cheer you up though fella." Several moments pass. "You know she doesn't even know you're alive at this point. To her, you will truly be the like Lazarus."

"I know. Hopefully, this will cheer her up having one less ghost in her life."

Time passes and Edmonds planet comes into view. Cooper does a pass over the planet letting the Ranger's scanners take in the planet's data. Cooper sees the Endurance in orbit with all removable pods missing. TARS does an executive summary on the incoming data and presents it to Cooper.

"Looks good Slick. Looks like Dr. Edmonds found us that rock for humanity to catch its breath." Cooper thinks. _Rest In Peace Edmonds._

"Cooper. I've found Dr Brand's landing site. By the look of it, the lights are on and she is home."

"TARS, start the landing sequence. Nothing fancy, just nice and easy. We got all the time in the world."

"Got it boss."

The Ranger starts its descent, Cooper wonders. _Will there be anything to salvage between us? Will she be able to move beyond Edmonds?_ _If anything, there are two things that I've wanted to see again in my life: my daughter Murph and for Amelia to smile at me again._

As the Ranger continues its descent, Cooper's spirit starts to lift.


	2. Chapter 2

Amelia has been moving various items into position while setting up the base camp. Lately, this is the type of work that she relishes. It allows her to continue digesting the events in her life since emerging from the wormhole. Many changes have occurred in her life and which has left her reeling. Every day is challenge to keep going towards eventually bootstrapping the human race. Every day she must confronts the ghosts of her recent past. She sees the faces of Doyle, Romilly, Mann, her father, Edmonds and Cooper. Every day she gets closer to coming to terms with each of their deaths.

_Doyle and Romilly: brilliant, gentle men who died in the service of their species._

_Mann: a once remarkable soul who fell into despair and became corrupted. His corruption almost cost humanity everything. Fortunately the bastard perished._

_Dad: a brilliant, shrewd man who put the survival of the species above his humanity. I still don't approve of what you did, but I understand._

_Wolf Edmonds: a former lover who said goodbye to me a long time ago. When we stopped receiving your beacon, that's when any hope of reigniting our love started to fade. There was a brief moment when I thought we might have a chance again when I volunteered for this mission. Ohhh my love, I am sorry. I held out beyond hope, but in my heart, I knew you were gone._

_Cooper: a man who made me feel something again since Wolf. A man who - Dammit!_

_Why can I not stop thinking of him? Why can I not come to terms with his death and move on? Why am I not even allowed a temporary release by the simple act of sleep? Why am I doing this to myself again?_

Then the anger subsides and her thoughts are allowed to flow in a gentle, truthful manner.

_When I saw the last chance for our race drifting towards re-entry over Mann's world. Where I saw a hopeless situation, you just charged in and pulled humanity's ass out of the fire._

_That was a day where I learned the difference between theory and application._

_When you knew our mortally wounded craft couldn't make it here with the both of us, you gave us the strongest push that you could and then jettisoned yourself into the void to lighten the load._

_That was the day I learned the difference between sacrificing something and sacrificing everything._

A soft metallic cadence announces the arrival of CASE. By this time Amelia is standing still with arms by her side with a distant stare. With eyes barely holding back the biblical floods, she utters a request to CASE, "Playback the last message from Cooper."

CASE's programmed algorithms to recognize obsessive behavior activate a sterile, clinical objection. "Dr. Brand, is it wise to repeatedly analyze Cooper's last sentiment to you? You get so depleted when you do so."

"Dammit, CASE just do it."

Cooper's image appears on CASE's video display. With his helmet off, Cooper faces the monitor with a steadfastness that is a bit unnerving to Amelia. He gives a slight smile.

"Amelia, CASE just gave the straight skinney on our situation. Given our damage vs our current weight, both of us cannot make it to Edmond's planet. To lighten the load, TARS and myself are going to take a shot at Gargantua. Maybe one us will be able to see past the Event Horizon and then, who knows?

Amelia, my hope is that you find Wolf alive and more importantly the love you talked about earlier when we were choosing planets. Hopefully that love will someday inspire the hearts of the children that the Endurance carries. I believe you will be able to teach them about some of humanity's best qualities.

I also just want to say 'Thanks' for saving my ass on Mann's planet. We should of never of gone there in the first place. With that said, I just want to ask when the next set of history books are being wrote about our journey that you be fair to my memory. Good Luck…..Cooper out."

Amelia then recalls his last words spoken to her, "We agreed Amelia, 90%...Detach."

Tears flowing freely, a shiver turns to trembling which turns into several convulsions. She covers her mouth with one hand in an attempt to be silent and reaches the other hand out to CASE so that she can steady herself. After the first wave passes, by force of habit she looks around to make sure she hasn't embarrassed herself.

_On a planet where you're the only human. Wait, let's not forget the frozen embryos. They might be able to understand my pain YEARS from now! Dumbass._

The last word of her thoughts redirects her anger from being inward to an outward manner.

_Who is the dumbass? Could it be the farmer/pilot who miraculously shows up at the last second to catch our little space jaunt to an entirely different galaxy? Let me get this straight:_

_He saves my ass on Miller's planet._

_He saves the last hope for humanity above Mann's world._

_To top it off, he then takes the most terrifying dive of all into a black hole with no regard to himself._

_He just makes the choice to die and all he asks for me to do is to be FAIR to his memory!?_

_Were we back on earth, he would have been put up for sainthood!_

In her anger/grief, she can just imagine a new world where every town or city has a small shrine dedicated to the one who made this new world possible.

_Cooper...you selfless bastard._

The back of her right hand wipes her right eye while the front of her left hand clears her left eye.

"Now I'm stuck on a world where I could have really used your help as a farmer, a builder, a friend…"

Without thinking her being silently reveals the terms that she's been searching for, but were in plain sight.

_A lover._

She's stunned by the simple truth of it. Retracing the times that she has spent with Cooper:

_I didn't think too much of you when I had first met you. Just a former astronaut who turned farmer that only had dust on his mind. I didn't think that remark about being cute was appropriate at all either._

_Then there was the attempt at small talk. Something about you and I should learn how to talk. I caught you with, 'Or learn not to talk at all. Just being honest.' You were just trying to be friendly, but I swatted you away._

_You saw through me on why I wanted to come here first. You challenged me. _

She can see now that the seed had been unknowingly planted here. Now she sees how the hope of seeing Wolf again had later masked the evolution of her feelings about Cooper. She was just surprised to see how long it had taken her to muddle through her feelings.

_God Dammit. I was right on this one, just for the wrong reason. Had we come here first though, I would of lost you without even knowing who you were and what you were capable of. You would have went home to your family and that would have been it._

A high pitched whine startles her out of her melancholy. She looks around and then covers her eyes from the sun to look up just as the thrusters fire on craft that looks somewhat familiar.

_Well Cooper, for now, I'm going to have to place the memory of you in a little shrine within my heart. I don't know how long it'll take this pain to subside, but I will not let you only be a ghost that haunts the innards of Gargantua. You will be remembered and your story will be told._

As Amelia collects herself and the dust swirls about, she sees the helmeted figure pilot the craft and wonders. _Well, whoever the cavalry is, I just hope they're as happy to see me as I am to see them. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note**: Greetings All. I just want to say 'Thanks' for all the kind words/reviews you folks have given this story. I must apologize because I'm terribly slow at writing these things. It leaves me with my jaw on the ground at how some other people can just crank out the quality lines in their stories. Just amazing. Thanks Again!

* * *

><p>The Ranger has settled in the dirt and cut off its engines. Eyes still red and puffy from mourning a fallen titan, Amelia strains to see the pilot of the craft. The dust obscures her view as the cockpit door raises enough for the pilot to standup. She is surprised to see a robot sliding to the upright position behind him. She freezes in place as she recognizes the side profile of the robot, the one identical to her sole companion CASE. Being that it's been 80 to 90 years that have passed since they left Earth, it wouldn't make sense that modern machines would still have the <strong>exact<strong> same form as CASE.

She freezes in place as if there has been a lightning strike several feet away. _Is that TARS?_

Both machines processing capabilities, one up to date and one antiquated, have sized up the situation and deduced that this is a highly unlikely event. Both follow a course of: _Silence is recommended._

Time slows down at this point as she enters a dreamlike state. Her breathing slows and she can hear her own heart beating. Her gaze shifts to the pilot as his helmet slowly comes off. His hand comes up to smooth out the sweat in his sandy blonde hair. His head slowly turns to where she can see his chiseled features.

This has been the face that has haunted her dreams. This has been the face she has seen on a futuristic statue being unveiled by a silk covering…a shroud. His face has a mixture of benevolence and perseverance with a slight off center smile. His is the face of a founder.

Cooper eyes are locked on her. The woman he traveled an unfathomable distance across the stars to reach is now just ten yards away. Cooper greets her in the simplest of ways. He breathes out a barely audible, "Hey."

"Cooper?"

For several moments, eyes wide as saucers, she does not blink. She doesn't want to chance that what she believes to be a mirage to suddenly vanish. Then before she can do anything else, it takes her. The weeks of work, stress and guilt surge to overwhelm her. It is as if Gargantua opens at her feet to swallow her. She feels the loneliness as the dead star's gravity pulls her into the terrifying blackness. And all she can think as her body and mind slip into the void is: _How?_

As he sees Amelia go down and Cooper is sliding down the front of the Ranger. In an instant, he is by her side. "Shit! So much for the knight in shining armor entrance."

Cooper feels her temperature and her pulse. With a sense of urgency, he lifts her up into her arms and heads for the nearest shelter. "Hey CASE? How she been since you guys landed? She been sick or anything?"

The silence bit value in one CASE's registers instantly flips and he springs to life. "Cooper...Hello. Amelia has not been physically sick, but she has been emotionally distraught since we arrived here."

_Yeah, I would be a tad unsettled to if I thought the survival of the species rested on my shoulders alone._ Looking around the camp, he sees that she has made considerable progress. _Tough girl though, she soldiered on._

"You say emotionally distraught, how do you mean?"

"She has restless nights and times when she just stops what she is doing to contemplate ….things. She also has times where she cries uncontrollably."

"She's lost a lot CASE." Moments pass. "We got her message. It's a shame about Dr. Edmonds."

"Yes. It looks like a landslide crushed the landing pod that contained his stasis chamber. I dug him out and we buried him several days after arriving here. She seemed to mourn for a week or so and then she was fine."

"And then what…?"

"And then it was like she had a relapse. Her pattern seemed to change though."

"What triggered it?"

"When I did as you asked?"

"Whaaat!?"

"When I waited for the appropriate time to show her your video message."

Then it comes back to Cooper. The damage to Endurance, the warning alarms going off in the background and then finally TAR's calculations about making it here. Cooper remembers the thoughts running through his head as he went and found CASE to record his message for Amelia.

_OK, we're 4__th__ and long and we can't afford to punt. Looks like Amelia gets to be Eve for the rebirth of the human race. Let's just hope that her Adam is still alive on the planet of Eden. OK, message … message … message, what's my message here?_

_Riiiiggghht. Give her a message that:_

_Just lays out the situation._

_Encourages her to follow her heart._

_Highlights her potential and accomplishments._

_Wait. If I'm going to taking one for the team, taking the 'stardust nap', does it hurt to ask to be remembered? To ask for a legacy? Naaah, doesn't hurt one bit._

_Ask for a place in the history books._

Cooper remembers the thoughts of his approaching burial within the remnants of a dead star caused his mind to race a bit. As his synapses were firing, temptation/humor momentarily got the best of him.

_Tell her if she wore a bit more makeup and did something with that hair that she would be a stunner…in a witty sort of way!_

Regaining his self-control, Cooper nixed the idea immediately.

_Alright there cowboy, eyes on your own paper, she's already spoken for. Plus you go asking to be honored in the history books and then something like that ends up being uncovered years later in a video. Yeah, that would look __**real**__ good…dumbass._

Steady once again, Cooper had to disavow his original thought.

_She's perfect the way she is._

Having made it to the landing pod that had a hospital setup in it. Cooper sets Amelia down on one of the two tables. "CASE, let's juice her system a little bit with an IV drip. In her condition, how much do you think we should give her?"

"Right off, 500 cc's wouldn't hurt a bit."

"Half a bag it is then."

CASE initiated other scans through the hospital pod's computers. As the readings started to come back, nothing looked out of the ordinary besides some loss of weight and some dehydration.

"I think if we give her some time, she'll be just fine. She just a little exhausted, that's all."

Looking down on Amelia, Cooper could just see the signs of exhaustion. Seeing her hair out of place, he absentmindedly takes an index finger and tucks the stray hair behind her ear. To him, she is the most beautiful thing in this world and the one they had originally left.

_God, I only saw it a handful of times on our way out here. But, if she woke up right now and just gave me one of those pearly white smiles again, I could descend into the belly of Gargantua all over again._

Comforted that she is resting, Cooper eyes drift for a moment in contemplation.

_Amelia started down the path that Dr. Mann went down._

The thought of her completing the journey down that path violates Cooper in every way. Cooper's protective instincts flare to life. He absentmindedly grits his teeth and makes a silent vow to Amelia. The woman who moments before Cooper's arrival could have thought that God himself had forsaken.

_Amelia…I have come here to help build this new world with you for the ones who have yet to arrive and the unborn ones that are already here. Whether there is anything between us that can be nurtured to grow into something more or you find another, I will not leave again until I know that you are loved._

Cooper is snapped out of his thoughts as the warm touch of a hand on his cheek pulls his gaze back to Amelia. With a look of teary eyed bewilderment, for some odd reason, Amelia reminds Cooper of the state the Endurance was in as it was heading for re-entry over Mann's World. Wounded and spinning into madness.

For one who has reappeared much like humanity's ancient savior, Cooper realizes that he has some fast explaining to do. Again the Endurance comes to mind, he has to deliver the explanation much like he saved that stricken ship. He thinks quick: Match the spin rate, close the distance, lock, decelerate with the servo thrusters and main engines on. C'mon Baby!

_If this had gone a different way, God I would have been tempted to just kiss you and hold you until all the stars in the night sky met their end like Gargantua. But that time is not now, there's work to be done: An explanation to give, feelings to sort through, a colony to build and then maybe, just maybe...a woman's heart to win._

As he inhales to start explaining, he remembers a fragment of CASE's words to him not to long ago.

_It's not possible._

And Cooper inwardly smiles as he recalls his own retort.

_No, it's necessary. _


	4. Chapter 4

Amelia and Cooper hold each other's gaze for a handful of moments. To both it seems an eternity that would have been their lives had they not found one another again. Always wondering what could have been had the circumstances been different. Coopers mind is racing, struggling with what to say.

_How do I tell her that I've seen the guts of our reality. That what I do know of science and physics has been turned on its ear. That when I left the tesseract and was going back through the wormhole, that seeing you Amelia one last time was enough to see me through to what I thought was my end._

Several moments pass as Cooper realizes he has been holding his breath the whole time.

_Say something you fucking idiot!_

Exhaling a soft greeting. "Heeey."

Just a moment ago, Amelia's bewildered face had reminded him of the stricken Endurance over Mann's world. Now, without knowing it, Cooper starts to retrace the steps he took to save the Endurance from Mann's madness.

_Match the spin rate._

With a furrowed brow and slight smile, thus giving a genuine sympathetic face, Cooper continues. "Looks like things got a little crazy for you after I left. My guess that thinking you we're the last living human adult charged with rebooting the species was a pretty heavy burden to bear. I mean you wer-"

With a voice filled with tension, Amelia interjects. "How is it possible you are here?"

Cooper realizes that he needs to focus on telling her what happened to him. _OK, dumbass, its time for something you hate doing: Talking about yourself._ He realizes he has to strike a balance here between just giving her an explanation vs the level of details. _Christ, I don't fully understand the how, what and why I fell into the tesseract. Buuuut, I cannot go into those details with her right now! Stay vague and just get through it._

Amelia continues with her disbelief. "I mean you detached and checked yourself into the celestial graveyard. Cooper, when I lost radio contact, you..." Amelia's voice drops to a whisper. "…died."

Cooper takes in a deep breathe. "When I detached Amelia, I fell for what seemed like an eternity, but I landed inside of…something. Something that I believe was built by the ones who opened the wormhole for us." Cooper's eyes drop a bit and become unfocused. "From what I saw and could comprehend at the time, I thought I was going to be lost in madness before I ran out of air."

Amelia's sees Cooper haunted look and her fuzziness starts to dissipate. _What was down there at the bottom of your grave? What did you see down there that could drive you to the edge of madness?_ Her focus starts to shift from what was her own descent to what haunted Cooper. "What was down there? What did you do?"

"Honestly, I went nuts."

_Close the distance._

"Let's just say that I was inside a structure where I could see every moment in time for a fixed location for the duration of my daughter's life."

This statement causes Amelia's head to spin. While starting to digest the content of Cooper's statement, Amelia tries to see a structure that would fit Cooper's description. To her the idea is like a block of marble and in her hands she holds the tools necessary to bring forth the statue. To use her tools, she must ask a couple of questions. "Wait a minute. How were you-"

"Hold on! Just go along with me with on this one. Imagine how you view a photo library on a tablet. View one, swipe finger to the left, there's the next one. Swipe finger to the right, there's the one you saw first. Wash, rinse, repeat."

"OK."

"So given that idea, I was able to get to the most appropriate places in time for that physical location and attempt to relay information. Sometimes I was successful and other times I was not."

"How were you able to relay information?"

"Remember when Doyle asked me how I found you guys at the base?"

"Yeeesss." Eyes widen in comprehension. "Gravity!"

"Bingo!" Sporting a pearly white grin. "The lady wins a prize."

"So...within this construct, you were able to manipulate gravity?"

"Correct. And in doing so, I was able to send information to this physical location at various points in time to be received by Murph and/or myself. These pieces of information were things like coordinates to the NASA base and quantum data that TARS acquired." Cooper decides to leave something out. _No need to tell her about STAY._

"So what happened then?"

"Well after key pieces of information had been delivered to influence the past in the direction of this future now, the construct closed."

"Sooo, this construct closed leaving you in a black hole. What happened to you then?"

"I was catapulted back to our solar system." Coopers meets Amelia's gaze with a soft smile. "While going back, I saw the face of an angel."

A quizzical look forms on Amelia's face while something barely caresses Amelia's comprehension._ What does he mean by that? _Then Amelia's puzzlement grows a bit more when for an instant Cooper's eyes involuntarily widen a bit and then he looks down.

_Christ! Where did that come from? Loose lips sink ships, pal._ Regaining from his slight lapse in composure. "Yeah, I only had a minute or so worth of air when some Rangers from Cooper's Station found me floating near Saturn. Guess I was starting to hallucinate a bit."

Amelia's mouth opens as part of an incredulous look. "They named a space station after you!?"

"No, no, no. That's what I thought at first, but I found out that they named it after Murph. She solved the gravity equation with the quantum data that I relayed to her. With the solution to gravity, humanity was able to put a multitude of enormous stations into space." A moment passes to let this sink in. "My daughter saved the flame of humanity from being extinguished back in our solar system."

"Is she still alive?"

"Yep, I made it back in time to see her again." A hurt look crosses Cooper's face as he swallows the lump forming in his throat. "She didn't have much time left though. She had been in cryo sleep for the last two years just hanging on to see her Dad again. When I left her, her family was there to say goodbye."

"Wait a minute. Your main objective was to get back to your kids when you came out here with us. So you're telling me that once you got there and saw Murph, you just picked up and left to come back here?" A look of sheer disbelief now covers Amelia's face as she shakes her head slightly asking, "Why?"

Cooper swallows hard, meets Amelia's gaze and delivers a one word response that revitalizes her on many different levels.

_Lock._

"You."

_Decelerate._

For a woman who has lost everyone near and dear to her, a woman who had been marooned in a strange/alien place, a woman who thought she would never know the love of a good man again, one who thought herself irrevocably lost now knows in her heart that she has been found.

_Now I know what Murph felt when her Dad finally returned to her. _With moist eyes and her chin starting to tremble, words fail her.

Cooper sees the impact of telling her what brought him to this place. He closes the distance between them, pulls her into his arms and eases them both to the floor. It's a reassuring hug that he gives her. It's a hug meant for one that has been plucked from the sea after being adrift for many days with no hope of rescue. Ameila just let's go and starts to purge herself of the desolation. Cooper just sits there quietly and thanks his lucky stars for being able to return to her.

With Cooper cradling Amelia, sometime later she quiets down. Cooper angles his head to one side and pulls his chin in an attempt to see her face. He sees that she is looking at some spot on the floor several feet away.

_Not yet! _Sensing that Cooper was about to break the silence of this moment, this Nirvana they had both somehow reached, she sucks in a loud breathe and exhales._ That should buy me a couple more minutes. _

Another minute passes. _Sorry Cooper, but this is the safest I've felt in years and I don't want this to end just yet._

Ameila sits there and just listens to Cooper inhale and exhale. To her, it is like listening to the coming in and going out of ocean waves. Ameila feels completely at peace.

_Main engines ON._

Sensing her calm, Cooper decides to build upon his one word statement that opened the flood gates. "Yeah, it was the thought of you here alone that brought me out here. The thought of you having to set up this colony all by yourself. The thought of you not knowing the fate of your race. It was too much for me to handle thinking about what you were having to deal with out here all by yourself."

Filtering out information is a big part of Amelia's job as a scientist. Right now, without thinking, she applies a filter to what Cooper was saying: _"-the thought of __**you**__-. The thought of __**you**__-. The thought of __**you**__-. -too much for me to handle-__**you**__-by yourself."_

Then it hits Amelia. Does h_e have feelings for…me?_

Unknowingly, Amelia's look goes from one of listening to the recognition of a basic fact. This does not escape Cooper.

_Shit Cowboy! She's seen your cards. She knows._

Several awkward moments pass and then finally Cooper makes a decision.

_Fuck it! What's that old saying? 'The truth shall set you free.'_

Cooper shuts his eyes for a second and shakes his head. "Hold on, let me reword that." Eyes open. "Listen, I'm not going to hide it, when we first met I was attracted to you. Then I found out about Wolf and you, so I backed off. Then it was all about getting back to my kids and I finally got back to one of them in time. When I got back, I was surrounded by all these people. A few were kin to me, but most were not. It was great to be 'home', but I soon realized that like you I was alone. I was a man who no longer fit in amongst his own people. Then when Murph arrived at the station, we talked. As I can see the wisdom in it, she pushed me away…back towards you. Too the only living human, that in the short time we've been together and apart, knows anything about who I truly am."

Amelia listens while Cooper bares his soul. _God, he made it back home to find out he was as alone as I was on this rock._

"Now here I am: to help you to get this colony going, to help you build this new world and to help you make this your home."

Amelia is unbalanced by the honesty in Cooper's tranquil oration. She needs to respond to Coopers statement, so she lays out several cards of her own. _Honesty setting: 100%._

In a quiet voice, "When we were spinning out of control above Mann's world and I passed out, it was one of the most terrifying things I ever experienced. When I came to, there you were lifting the Endurance out of orbit. Amongst all the chaos, there you were playing the part of bedrock. You did this not once but twice. When I landed here and saw my lot in life, then it was me spinning out of control. Again, I pass out and when I come to its you that lifts me out of it. Playing that part again…bedrock. "

_Did she just compliment me? Christ that must be the nicest thing she has ever said to me._

A soft sound causes both of them to look over to see TARS and CASE both silently watching. If TARS had been human, Cooper swears that TARS just made a movement that resembled him looking at his feet in embarrassment. As if he had just been busted eavesdropping in on a private moment.

_Dammit guys! I was just starting to get some interesting conversation out of her too._

Cooper stands up and then offers a hand to Amelia. She looks at Cooper, gives him a soft smile as she takes it and he pulls her up.

Not using the same exact words, both simultaneously have the same thought. _Conversation over, for now._

With her dry, reddened eyes, that couldn't cry anymore tears if her life depended on it, Amelia looks down to slap the dust off her pant legs. Amelia looks up, gives a weary smile and points to the pod that she sleeps in. "I think I'm going to go cleanup now."

Cooper sees a mixture of exhaustion and relief on her. Overall, he senses that she is going to be alright. Cooper decides to tease a bit, "OK Miss Brand, I guess I'll catch you later then."

Calmly smiling. "Yeah." She trudges a couple of steps, stops, turns and points to tiredly, yet playfully chide: "That's **Doctor** Brand to you cowboy."

Cooper instantly replies in an exaggerated cowboy accent, "Sorry Ma'am, forgot my manners." Meanwhile, taking his thumb and index finger to pull down the front edge of an imaginary cowboy hat to indicate respect.

_We're out of orbit._

Without knowing it, she bestows upon Cooper for something he has sought. A slight shake of the head and beautiful, pearly smile indicating that he's being a meathead right now.

_Ohhh, there it is._ Without showing it, Cooper's breathe catches in his lungs as he tightens up a bit. _God, that's like the sun coming out after it has rained for a year straight._

Cooper watches as Amelia turns and walks towards the pod. She pushes a button and the door opens, but she lingers for a moment. Amelia turns her head and casts a look towards Cooper. For several moments they hold each others gaze and several unspoken words are exchanged.

_Thank You for coming back for me._

Cooper gives a slight perceptible nod. _You're Welcome._

Amelia looks down for a split second and then her gaze swivels to the open door. As the door shuts behind her, Cooper turns to start unloading the Ranger.

TARS senses that its OK to bust Cooper's chops now, "What's a matter sailor? You strike out?"

A chuckle escapes Cooper, "Shut up asshole."

Amelia is leaning against the wall just inside the doorway with her hands behind her. A silent prayer goes to God for not being the only one left of her species.

_He could of left me out here to carry on until the other's came. He could of stayed with Murphy until her end. He could of stayed behind with all the creature comforts back in our solar system. But in the end, he came back...for me._

Amelia ponders this thought for several moments and then a slight smile forms. For now, Amelia's heart is singing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note**: Greetings all. I appreciate all the kind words in the reviews. I would also say that I'm open to criticism as well. Maybe a well placed: "What the hell were you thinking when you put that in there!?" would help stifle those silly urges that us authors get sometimes. Either way, thanks for reading/reviewing.

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><p>Amelia sits at the edge of her bed after just taking a shower. She had spent an inordinate amount of time in there just letting the hot water pour over her. Many different thoughts of loneliness had joined with the water flowing through her hair, run down her back and hit the drain. Her muscles had relaxed to the point that she wondered if she was going to fall over if she stood upright from leaning against the shower wall. When the cold air hit her from opening the shower door, the fresh air had pepped her up a bit to give her enough energy to dry off and get ready for bed. Now she sits there and contemplates the new hand of cards she has been dealt in life.<p>

_Jesus. He came to this place for me. The only guy alive that I could/do have any feelings for comes back to me on a silver platter._ This is surreal moment for Amelia. _And to think, hours ago I thought I was the only one left._

A small inhale in and a large exhale out. _Mankind still lives and Cooper is here. What did I do to deserve this?_

With a smile on her face, she runs a comb through her hair a couple of times, puts it aside and turns out the lights. Slipping under the covers, Amelia's mode of thought shifts gears. Having always been focused on the mission, there wasn't really time for small talk and those moments to really get to know the other members of the crew.

_Well I've met Superman, but what is Clark Kent aka Joseph Cooper like?_ Pondering all the different times she had been around Cooper that hadn't involved either adrenaline and crisis or her cold veneer warding him off, she is left with too few puzzle pieces. _With everything left to do on getting this place set up, this is an extra task that I'm actually looking forward to: getting to know Joseph Cooper._

Before she can think about it anymore, her eyes slide shut and she proceeds to have the best night of sleep since she arrived on this new planet.

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><p>Amelia slowly wakes up. <em>God, what time is it?<em> She doesn't move just yet, she lays there and lets consciousness come back to her. _I slept like a rock and you know something, I don't think I had any nightmares. At least I don't remember having any and I didn't wake up screaming his name._

The nightmares, the ones that take place during the Endurance's escape from Gargantua. The ones where Cooper pelts her with insults and accusations. The ones where he blames her for everything going wrong with the mission which results in everyone else having to pay for her fuck ups. He would blame her for missing out on his kid's lives and he would hope she dwells on this the rest of her sad, pathetic life. Then an apoplectic Cooper says the one word that will unsettle her for the rest of her days: _Detach._ And before she could explain or try to reason with him, he is gone.

She places a hand on her night shirt: _Nope._ Runs a hand through her hair. _No sweat there either. On the nights I don't wake up screaming, it is usually like I just finished a marathon when I wake up in the morning._

Several more minutes pass as Amelia lays in bed. Then thoughts of Cooper make their way into her head accompanied by a small smile shortly afterwards. _I better get up now. I wonder what he is up to this-!_

A quiet knocks emanates from her door. "Hey Amelia, you decent?"

"Uhhhh, yeah come in."

The door slowly opens revealing Cooper with a tray of food. "OK, sleepy head, how about a little something to eat?"

Sitting up in bed, Amelia sarcastically and affirmatively answers, "Well yeah."

"I thought you might need a little something to eat after sleeping the day away."

Slightly perplexed, Amelia asks while picking up her watch, "What do you mean? Shit its 5pm!"

"I mean I have some powdered eggs, simulated sausage, toast and some TANG her for you. But this ain't no breakfast, this here is supper."

Amelia brings a hand to her forehead and briefly massages it. "God, why did you let me sleep so long."

Cooper smiles and playfully chides her as a farmer would his wife, "Woman, don't blame it on me. I can't help that you worked yourself to the point of exhaustion."

Amelia looks up at Cooper, "A point of exhaustion on several different levels." Amelia gaze drops a bit and gets distant. _It wasn't just a physical exhaustion ,it was also a mental exhaustion as well. Thinking about how everything thing played out between __**us**__ in the end. Struggling with you willingly dropping into Gargantua. I still haven't come to grips with that little move._

_Oopps, struck a chord with that last comment. Yeah, she is going to be fine, but it is going to take time._ Cooper changes the direction of the conversation, he decides to mention some things to he did to remind her that someone is here with her. "Well, the reason that I let you sleep, because CASE said that this is probably most restful sleep that you've got since you two landed here. After talking to him at length about all that has happened, I thought I would just let you be."

_Crap, he talked to CASE._ As she is thinking this, she keeps an outwardly rested, morning (err, afternoon) expression, but she is concerned. _I hope he didn't tell Cooper about my little obsession with reviewing that last message he made for me._

Coopers moves a couple of steps closer and hands her the tray which focuses her. _"_I don't mean to creep you out or anything, but I checked on you a couple of times and you were sleeping like a baby. So, I let it ride."

A thankful look appears on Amelia's face. _God, he checks on me at night and makes me 'breakfast' in bed. _Amelia quietly says, "Thanks."

Cooper senses he has banked some 'cool points', so in the interest of raising her spirits a bit, he decides to spend them. He continues, "Well, I mean except for the snoring , you were sleeping pretty soundly."

Fork, with some eggs on it, stops midflight, head pulls back, mouth closes with eyes larger than normal. Amelia in a semi-incredulous tone says, "What!? I do NOT snore!"

Cooper keeps going, "CASE says that you've snored every night since you got here. He says that it's rattled the pod here something fierce."

Cooper barely gets the door shut as a pillow hits it with an audible WHUMP.

Smiling, shaking her head. _Childish bastard._ She tries a fork load of the eggs. _Damn, these are good! _Nodding her head in silent approval while she takes in another chunk. _Better than I was ever able to make them. Clark Kent can cook._

From down the hall, she can hear Cooper saying to her, "Yeah, they're pretty good eggs, aren't they. You mix them with some milk, go a bit heavy on the salt, easy on the pepper and cook them until they are just a bit wet. Just like Grandma use to make them."

Amelia is slightly stunned that Cooper could foretell her loving his scrambled eggs, but she could only silently agree with him. Then she adds one more ability to Cooper's list, "Looks like Clark Kent can see through walls as well."


	6. Chapter 6

Amelia finishes her food that Coop brought to her in bed. She takes a quick shower and throws on some fresh evening-at-home clothes. Bringing her tray out into the food prep area in the pod, she washes the dishes up quick and set them in the dish strainer. All the while she is looking around for her sole, human companion on the planet.

_Where'd he go off to?_ Not worried so much since Coop was a big boy, she just would like his company. _Cowboy has been here a little over a day and he is already getting himself lost._

Walking around the beginnings of the colony, the old feelings of abandonment start to whisper to her consciousness. Involuntarily, she double checks that Cooper's Ranger is still there. _Well he hasn't fled the planet._

With the sun starting to set, Amelia climbs the small hill next to their landing site. Coming over the top of the hill, any tension that has been building up now subsides as she see's Coop and the 'twins'. Playing it cool, "What, you prefer the company of robots and not women for romantic sunsets?"

Parrying the friendly jab with a friendly jab of his own, "Oh look fellas, Amelia has reemerged from a black hole called her **beeedrooom**." Bringing his hand to his face as if he is holding a news reporter's microphone and placing his other hand on his ear as if to listen to an earpiece. "Dr. Brand, what mysteries of the universe did you solve when you crossed your bedroom's event horizon? Do you think you might be put up for a Pulitzer Prize for your achievement?"

Amelia is in stitches, laughing her ass off._ Clark Kent has a sense of humor as well. _Enjoying the laugh and Cooper's company, she plays along. "Shee-iit. You think I'll get a Pulitzer? I **know** I'll get a Pulitzer."

Amelia's ability to roll with the blows amuses Cooper as he lets out a soft laugh.

The chuckles subside down to warm smiles. Amelia raises a hand over her eyes. "We sure get some beautiful sunsets here. You mind if I join you?"

"Sure." Cooper gives the spot next to him one soft pat. "Cop a squat."

Amelia sits down and the pair take a couple of minutes to appreciate the sunset.

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><p>TARS senses that this might be a time that they might want to talk. So, he silently signals CASE. 'C'mon, let's scoot. I think these two might want to be alone to talk.'<p>

CASE, lacking the updated computing capacity that TARS has now. 'What? What makes you think that?'

'Remember? I told you that I got overhauled at Cooper's station.'

'Yeah, that's right.'

'C'mon, let's leave these kids alone.'

The two quietly turn and plod off back towards the camp.

* * *

><p>Cooper looks over and sees the twins heading back to camp. <em>Hmmm, maybe we can continue that little talk we were having yesterday.<em>

Several more minutes go by as the pair watches the sun set. With dark blue and purple clouds behind them as night approaches to claim this land, golden light bathes the both of them in the hope and promise of this new world. Cooper gets the feeling that this will be a moment he will not soon forget.

Watching the hues of dusk. _Reminds me when we were over Gargantua._ Amelia starts to feel uneasy, while rubbing her palms down the top of both legs. _Detach. _She casts an apprehensive side glance to Cooper and then looks down. _Gotta know. _Amelia breaks the silence with a voice slightly above a whisper, "Cooper, why did you choose to fall? You could just as easily stayed with us and we could have taken our chances on escaping Gargantua to make it here."

Amelia catches him slightly off guard. _Whaaat? She wants to talk about that?_ Thinking about it for a second while a look containing a bit of reluctance starts to show. "I didn't have a choice Amelia. Not with what I thought at the time was with the survival of the species at stake. I mean, didn't your Dad say something about we need to stop thinking ourselves as individuals and start thinking in terms of a species. Well, I guess I took those words to heart."

"And that's why you fell?"

"I guess that was the most important reason."

"There were other reasons?"

"Yeah. "

"And they were...?"

"Well, the chances that my children and everyone that I ever left on earth were memories, by then. It made it easier."

"You said reasons...plural."

"Lastly, I guess I wanted to make sure you got a chance to see Wolf again. It was a slim chance at best with him having been on the planet for eighty-some years, but I still wanted to give you that shot."

_You selfless bastard._

"Wait a minute. CASE said he showed you the video."

Amelia tightens up, her jaw is clenched. _Ohhh shiii-_

"Multiple times! As in too many times to count."

_-IIIIIIIITTTTT! CASE, you rat!_

"What the hell is that all about?"

Unmasked, Amelia turns slightly, pauses a second and then makes a confession, "When you fell into Gargantua, I felt like a piece of me died."

Feeding off her honesty, "Well Amelia, it felt as though a piece of me died as well when I detached."

Jaws clench with the impact of that last word, she looks at him with a little trepidation. "It didn't occur to me what I had lost until I got here. All the decent men in my life, gone."

Taking that as a compliment, a subtle smile forms. _Wow, I qualify as decent._

"And then there is you."

Subtle grimace._ Damn._

"You come out of nowhere. Just some seemingly average guy who has the skills we need for our little adventure. You even have attachments, your kids, but you come anyways. Then the force 10 shit storm hits and instead of stepping away, you are stepping into the breach." Shaking her head a bit with a look of slight disbelief/admiration. "There you are just holding it all together. THEN, when it looks like we might just beat the odds, you willingly fall to overcome the one last threat and insure the survival of the species."

Stunned. Am I talking with _Amelia Brand right now?_

Frustration starts to show on Amelia's face, "So the whole watching the video thing was me just trying to deal with it."

"Deal with what?"

"The fact that I had been in the presence of a saint and hadn't known it until it was too late." Her eyes shimmering with tears laden with inconsequence. "And to deal with the realization that had you stayed with the Endurance and it had somehow gotten here with the tank on 'E' that **we** might have been allowed something more."

_Wait. What exactly does 'we might have been allowed something more' mean?_ Then it clicks. _Holy shit Coop, I think the girl has feelings for ya. _Reeling a bit. "Listen Amelia, you ha-."

"Then just when I'm coming to terms with it all, you show back up like nothing happened." Gravity pulls the salty moisture down one side of her face. "No big deal, all in a day's work."

"Well, how am I supposed to show up?" Cooper brings his hands up over his left shoulder with hands like they are clasping something. "Like I just caught the game winning touchdown of the Super Bowl?" Cooper does a subdued spiking of an imaginary football. "Maybe do a little end zone dance?" Punches his fists together in a moronic way as if dancing.

Wiping underneath both her eyes, "You know, I already feel pretty insignificant in your presence. Then I open up and you make fun of me?" Amelia stands and gives him a sour look. "Well, just so there isn't any confusion, you can be asshole sometimes."

Agreeing with Amelia. _Yeeesss. Let's not forget I'm a dumbass at times as well._

Amelia turns to walk away.

Unwilling to let this fester, he gambles and catches her arm. In a friendly/pleading tone, "Hold on. Wait."

On the verge of yanking her arm out of his grasp, Amelia see's the look on his face, hears his tone and relaxes a bit.

"You should of said dumbass as well. Listen, I'm not going to sit here and make fun of you. That wasn't the intent of my little show just then." With sincere regret on his face. "You have the most beautiful smile, you know that?" Pausing for effect. "I guess I was just playing along just trying to get you to laugh, that's all."

The compliment softens Amelia up, her arm relaxes even more. Cooper doesn't allow for any slack and gently pulls her in. A silent understanding is achieved; a truce is established.

"You said that 'we might have been allowed something more'. I've come along way to be here with you hoping that YES...we might be allowed something more."

Sourness has given away to a soft look with a hint of a smile.

"That hope started when I reached out for you in the worm hole."

Coopers gaze is met with a blank stare and then moments later eyes widen, **recognition**.

"Yes, that was me being transported back. At the time, I thought I was nearing my death and to see such an angelic vision like you had me ready to meet my maker. My only regret was that I would never get to see you like this again."

With a look containing tender uncertainty of what comes next vs a desperation to know, Amelia is speechless. Cooper pulls her Amelia close with eyes locked; both seem to be in a trance.

"Amelia, for some reason, I believe that my future was shown to me in that instant." The look of a traveler who has been away from home too long appears on his face. "That future is you."

Feeling like she is back on the Endurance when she passed out and then came to, Cooper leading the way while she is just along for the ride. All she can do is put her arms around Cooper's neck and pull him in closer.

An instant before lips meet, a familiar sentiment crosses Cooper's mind when a previous journey was about to get interesting: _Here we go._


End file.
